I Am Chris Farley

by Screedler on December 1, 2015

I caught the new documentary about comedian and Saturday Night Live star Chris Farley on Spike TV over the holiday weekend and despite the way it glosses over the ugly side of his addictions, its worth a watch if you can catch it for free like I did.

Claiming to be the “definitive biographical film” about the actor, who passed away from a drug overdose in 1997 at the age of 33; it features stories and recollections from Farley’s many friends and costars. The list includes SNL cohorts like Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, Molly Shannon, and, of course, David Spade, as well as others, like Christina Applegate, Dan Aykroyd, Bod Odenkirk, and Lorne Michaels.

The film follows Farley’s life from his childhood in Madison, Wisconsin to his early days in show business as a member of Chicago’s legendary Second City comedy troupe. His rapid rise to fame on SNL andhis starring turns in movies like Tommy Boy and Black Sheep are covered, but his many personal problems, that included heavy drug use are left vague.

Farley’s family gave their full cooperation for the film, which runs through his whole career, memorable characters and roles—like Matt Foley, who you may recall lives in a van down by the river.

While we get to see every angle of Farley’s comic abilities explored, depressingly little time is spent developing the very real drug and alcohol problems he battled throughout his life.

For more info on upcoming free viewings check out http://www.spike.com/shows/i-am. As mentioned, I caught it for free during regular programming on Spike; but it looks like if your an Amazon Prime member you can stream anytime at no cost except the data you use (for those of us on metered connections).